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Contract
your worries out
Vide
Notification dated May 2, 2006, the State Government of Maharashtra
effected an amendment ("Amendment") to the Contract Labour
(Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 ("Act"). The Amendment
exempts from the purview of the Act, work of an ancillary nature
carried out in the area of a Special Economic Zone ("SEZ").
The Amendment clarifies the list of ancillary activities, being
canteen, gardening, cleaning, security, courier services, transport
of raw material and finished products, or loading/unloading within
the premises of a factory/establishment. Further, it also clarifies
that the work carried out in factories/establishments designated
as 100% export units by the Government, which is required to achieve
the objective of a principal establishment in the SEZ, is to be
considered to be of temporary and intermittent nature, irrespective
of the period of performance of the work by the workers in such
ancillary establishments.
The
Act was primarily enacted to regulate the employment of contract
labour in certain establishments and to provide for its abolition
under certain circumstances. The implication of the Amendment
is that contract labour can now be used in the 100% export units
located in SEZ in Maharashtra to contract out any activity as
long as it satisfies the condition of being required to achieve
the 'principal objective' of such establishment. The impact of
this would be that at least the 100% export units located in SEZs
in the State of Maharashtra could carry on their entire activities
using contract labour. They would not need to take on employees
on their payroll on permanent basis and thus be subjected to the
provisions of the other employment laws, governing termination
provisions etc.
As
expected, this notification has not gone down too well with certain
section of the society. Labour unions and some political parties
are opposing this Amendment.
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